Tag Archives: corporate vs local

How Finding Balance is Crucial to Home Builder Success

For the local branches of corporate regional and national builders, a large part of their success relies on finding the right balance of control and autonomy. But there is a distinguishable line between having needed autonomy, and going â€śrogueâ€ť and losing ties to the corporate strength. The importance and true value of both the corporate influence and the local influence are undeniable, but the balance between the two is the most crucial component: itâ€™s what most builders struggle with. Actively trying to achieve the perfect balance will make your business more competitive, and it will gear you in the right direction for long-term success both for your corporate entity and your local one.

The corporate/local relationship is not unlike a parent/child relationship â€“ similar to how parents provide rules, structure, and guidance for their children, corporate provides structure and a set of systems that have been tried and true for their success as a whole: standards, training, rules and guidelines, and expertise that only comes with many years of industry experience. Corporate must identify the people, processes, and technology for its little local branch. Theyâ€™ve already created the mission statement, the branding and logos — theyâ€™ve built the foundation on which the local builder must build upon (pun intended). Without the standards and systems, local branches would be orphans, starting from scratch and having to do a trial-and-error for everything until finally getting it right â€“ ultimately wasting precious time and resources.

But what about the other side of the coin? Should corporate be synonymous with â€ścookie cutterâ€ť? Or have a â€śmy way or the highwayâ€ť attitude? I would suggest not. Too many structures and constricting systems can be so anti-productive that they end up suffocating the voices and ambitions of those at the individual level who actually know what they are doing and want to make a change for the better, fulfilling corporateâ€™s original intent using local knowledge and resources.

Product is simply not the same in each state, let alone city. History, climate, style, market, and economy all have huge implications in the marketplace, and especially in homebuilding. Being able to choose land based on local knowledge and market trends is an invaluable resource that corporate often discredits. But the national corporate builder is not omnipresent enough to actually know everything about each individual local market. Thatâ€™s the beauty of having a local branch where you can really â€śhave feet on the streetâ€ť and get the scoop that the locals only know â€“ the local expertise based on a national model â€“ when done right it has the ability to create a lot of local success and corporate a lot more money. Local vendors and local expertise that are aligned with corporate brand standards, values, and policies will always yield the best results.

There is a tension between the overarching corporate objectives and the local autonomy of a branch. But instead of feeding the tension and making a situation (that is here to stay)Â MORE unproductive, proactively creating systems to maintain a balance instead of a strain will yield the best results for the local and for the corporate. Weâ€™ve seen the two extremes: the rogues that canâ€™t color within the lines, and the dependents that canâ€™t seem to the leave the nest. And although each Corporate vs. Local situation is unique, the bottom line is that being aware of this need for balance and of a good relationship between corporate and local is, at the very least, a first step in the right direction.